The Sperry Utility Services Authority Receives $1,500,000 Wastewater System Loan with 100% Principal Forgiveness from the OWRB
OKLAHOMA CITY – The Sperry Utility Services Authority (Authority) received approval for a $1,500,000 loan with 100% principal forgiveness on Tuesday from the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) to improve the Authority’s wastewater infrastructure. Construction of upgrades and improvements to the wastewater system will be financed by the Oklahoma Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF).
The Authority operates a wastewater treatment facility with a design capacity of 0.84 million gallons per day, using an aerated lagoon and disinfection basins to treat wastewater. Aging infrastructure and increased demand have made it difficult for the facility to meet regulatory requirements, especially during heavy rain events that exceed the system’s capacity. To address these challenges, the Authority will expand the chlorination basin, install new aerators, upgrade disinfection equipment and controls, construct a new control building, and implement a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) monitoring system. These upgrades will improve treatment reliability, restore compliance, and improve the water quality discharged into the Washita River.
Lori Johnson, chief of the OWRB’s Financial Assistance Division, calculated that the Authority’s customers will save an estimated $2,466,900 compared to traditional financing.
“We are grateful to State Senators Dana Prieto and Bill Coleman and State Representative Clay Staires for their support of our financial assistance programs,” said Julie Cunningham, Executive Director of the OWRB.
The CWSRF program is administered by the Oklahoma Water Resources Board with partial funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The CWSRF program has provided approximately $2.8 billion in water quality loans to provide communities the resources necessary to maintain and improve the infrastructure that protects our valuable water resources statewide.
Since 1983, the Oklahoma Water Resources Board has approved over $8.2 billion in loans and grants for water and wastewater infrastructure improvements throughout Oklahoma.
